On the recordAugust 1, 2011
I thank the Senator from Utah, and I appreciate his passion for the issue. I agree with him on the issue. The way for us to get together and resolve it is to have a conference committee, to have the conferees appointed on the House side. The conferees are appointed on the Senate side already, and we are ready to negotiate this bill. And I am going to be for the same position as the Senator from Utah because I don't think NMB made the right decision. I think it is a terrible overstretch, overreach of that board to change the law or change the regulation about what is a union election. I think they are wrong. But we cannot solve the issue with the House sending an extension of the FAA with a rider that is completely separate from that issue. NMB is not in the rider, it is not in the rider at all, but that is the issue everybody is negotiating unilaterally here. The House has sent over a bill that has an essential air service amendment that also has not been negotiated, but what they are negotiating on is the National Mediation Board. Well, if that is confusing, there is a reason--because it is confusing. So why don't we unconfuse and have a conference committee the way we normally do here, and let's hash out these issues.…
